50¢
Powhatan, Virginia
The hometown paper of Martha Powers
Vol. XXVII No. 27
July 2, 2014
School board says it will honor contract By Laura McFarland News Editor
T
he Powhatan County School Board said on Tuesday, June 24, that it has no choice but to allow former school superintendent Margaret Meara to participate in the school division’s Supplemental Retirement Program despite a recent vote by the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors to bar her from entering. During a discussion period at the end of the School Board meeting on June 24, chairman Rick Cole said the school board has consulted its attorneys, who told them they are contractually obligated to allow Meara to continue in the program now that she has finished her final year of em-
ployment as of Monday, June 30. The board of supervisors had voted only eight days earlier to end the program and prohibit Meara from participating at its meeting on June 16. “We want to do what the board of supervisors asks us to do, but, at this point, we are in a situation where whatever we do is going to be wrong,” Cole said. On June 16, the board of supervisors voted 3-2 to end the SRP, divided on the issue of whether to prevent any additional retiring employees from enrolling. While the decision allowed for two employees who “properly enrolled” in PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND the program at the same time as Meara in Powhatan County School Board chairman Rick Cole (left) and 2013 to remain, it said the former super- superintendent Eric Jones said the school board will honor a contract to allow former school Superintendent Margaret Meara to participate in the
see CONTRACT page 2A school division’s Supplemental Retirement Program.
Woman helps solve crime against her Staff Report A Powhatan woman has her stolen property back after a chance encounter led her to help solve the crime. The woman reported on June 9 that two bronze statues had been stolen overnight from the front yard of her home on Cartersville Road, Anne Reynolds, crime analyst for the Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office, said. The two statues are of jockeys on horseback that both stand about 4 feet tall. Nothing changed until Monday, June
23, when the woman was at a local convenience store and noticed a truck with the statues in the bed of the truck, Reynolds said. The driver of the vehicle was attempting to sell the statues to an associate of the victim’s. The victim contacted the police and multiple deputies – with assistance from the Virginia State Police and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office – stopped the vehicle in the 600 block of Anderson Highway, in Cumberland County, Reynolds said. Eric Boswell, 30, of Kentucky and Christopher Grady, 49, of Tennessee were
driving a blue and white Ford F150 with Tennessee tags when they were pulled over, she said. This truck also had a Northstar tank, used to transport sealant for driveways as well as a yellow light on top of the cab, she said. “It is likely that these two individuals have attempted to offer local residents a deal on leftover seal coating.” Grady was charged with grand larceny and possession with intent to sell stolen property, both felonies. Boswell was charged with being a fugitive from justice in Kentucky. Both men appeared in court on
BOSWELL
GRADY
Wednesday, June 25, for their arraignments. Boswell is being held for extradition to Kentucky and Grady was released on a $25,000 bond.
Veterans benefit from Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center
Group seeks to save HORSES IN PERIL PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND PHOTOS BY ANJIE HENLEY
Volunteers Karen Ylimaki and Steve Glazebrook attended a Casino Night held at the Virginia War Memorial to benefit the Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center. The event had a country western theme. Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center provides year-round therapeutic horseback riding exclusively for veterans with special needs and disabilities. Focusing on Veterans in Central Virginia, the goal of this program is to improve the quality of life for the participants through activities that are positive to their cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being. Above, Mr. Roscoe, a disabled veteran, displays a trophy he has received during a session at Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center. For more information they can go to www.ldequestrian.com.
Allison Vornkahl of Powhatan, left, holds Liberty while Donna McNamara of Powhatan holds Eagle. The two horses were rescued by the Powhatan Equine Rescue League in May.
By Laura McFarland News Editor
W
hen the Powhatan Equine Rescue League first comes across a horse, it might be half-starved, scarred, beaten, neglected and afraid. When it leaves them, the volunteers who run the horse rescue want to make sure the animal is healed, healthy, trained, and ready for a good life with a new owner, Donna McNamara, executive director and one of the founders, said. It takes a great deal of time, effort and money, but every horse saved is an important victory, she said. “We hope to always make a difference. We are not here to judge people, but we are here to help the horses,” McNamara of Powhatan said. The Powhatan-based rescue group formed in March, mostly made up of former members of another rescue group, the Virginia Equine Rescue Society, after that group moved to Hanover, McNamara
said. She said that group is a good organization and she loved being involved. She housed five quarantined horses for several weeks each between June 2013 and January 2014, and all but one were adopted. The organization’s move left a void for many local volunteers, who had a passion for the rescue work but didn’t find it feasible or ideal to drive to Hanover to give their time, Allison Vornkahl also of Powhatan, who is president and secretary of the new group’s board, said. “I was the adoption and foster coordinator for them. Once they moved, it just got too hard,” she said. “But I have always wanted to have a horse rescue as long as I can remember.” So, the local volunteers formed their own group, PERL, and are working to become a 501c3 nonprofit organization that serves Powhatan, Cumberland, see HORSES page 4A
Inside
Sports
Index
A6 Fighting Creek Park opens new trails
B1 Former Powhatan softball player heading to SEC
Calendar Classified Crossword Horoscope Obituaries Opinion TV Listings
A8 B6-7 A9 A9 A7 A8 B5-6